Coles Bay

The seaside holiday village of Coles Bay sits beneath stunning, sheer pink granite mountains overlooking the calm, crystal clear water of Oyster Bay. The uncrowded beaches and crystal clear waters offer the ideal location for swimming, boating, kayaking and fishing. This pretty town is a great base to explore Freycinet National Park with its spectacular coastal scenery that includes famous Wineglass Bay, rated as one of the ten best beaches in the world. Take an award-winning sea kayak tour or cruise the Peninsula by air, under sail, on an eco-cruise - or for those staying on land - by Quad bike. For a more gentle option join a food and wine tour and indulge in world class wines and Tasmania's famous gourmet products. The 10,000 ha park is a wildlife haven, home to Tasmanian pademelons, white-breasted sea eagles, red-necked wallabies - and in season offers spectacular displays of a wide variety of native orchids. There's also a range of walks in the park. These include an easy ten minute walk to the beach and rocks around Sleepy Bay, on route to Cape Tourville. The walk down to the rocks is easy and enjoyable and the kelp on the rocks is impressive. Facilities in Coles Bay or Freycinet range from luxury accommodation and gourmet restaurants to wilderness camping and self-catering with excellent caravan sites and camping facilities. Camp sites are available just inside the park boundary however because the area is so popular over the Christmas-New Year period a ballot is drawn for sites, so check the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife website.